I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by Facebook…
Years ago I argued with a friend over the Nick Drake “Pink Moon” VW commercial. While I don’t like hearing my favorite artists used like that, I did feel that Drake had such a small following before the commercial that anything to bring him to a wider audience would be good. They felt that Drake belonged to ‘them’ and they weren’t willing to share his music with a wider audience, they wanted it kept small and special. Which brings me to this slightly different discussion. When I was in college in 1980, I was one of only two people who checked On The Road out of the library that year. No one else on campus was reading it and most Kerouac books were ‘out of print.’ Last night I saw the On the Road movie on the big screen, then later I watched the President of the United States oversee a tribute to Led Zeppelin, a band that in high school and college we admired for their ‘over the top’ musical ability and to a lesser degree for their bad-boy “mud-shark” image. (And mainly because they were a great alternative to the dreck of Journey, REO, Styx, Foreigner, et al – that most boneheads on campus where listening to in Western New York circa 1977 to 80) So, the question is – is this progress for our former counter-culture heroes to make it to a Hollywood movie and a glowing Washington, DC reception? I’m not judging here, I’m just curious to get some thoughts…
VW Ad – Nick Drake – Pink Moon by umbrellaboy
I really should take the time and write a proper essay length review, but I saw the On The Road movie today. All the essential scenes and characters of the book were in place – and the casting was pretty much spot on. The movie captured the exuberance of the book and its occasional dark and seedy side. It was lacking at times some, but not all of the empathy and reflectiveness of Kerouac’s writing, but was great to see Neal be vulnerable at times and not be just a reckless hipster. He felt real. Jack was nearly perfect as the slightly nervous observer, enamored with Neal, but afraid of surrendering himself completely. While many of their antics may seem passé in 2012 or even during the 1960’s, it is important to remember that all of the events in this movie occur before the 1950’s even begin. I dunno, I’d give it at least a 9 out of 10 for historical accuracy and an 8 out of 10 for literary quality. That probably seems like over praise and perhaps it is – but I’ll tell you this, even if this movie got made again (and it probably never will), you’d be hard pressed to better it. Maybe I’m just grateful they didn’t screw it up, maybe I need to watch it 2 or 3 more times until I make my final decision.
– Pat Thomas is the author of the recently released work, Listen, Whitey! The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965-1975. The companion disc for the book has been named one of the ten best CDs of 2012 by Time magazine.
